All The King’s Men

All The King’s Men

In sacred fields of tomorrows lost,
lie eastern sons of a foreign soil,
desolate, where the poppies blow,
their names known only unto God.

In Remembrance of the men of the Canadian & Indian Expeditionary forces that gave their lives for King & Crown, in Flanders Fields

100 years ago today, on May 3, 1915 John McCrae wrote ‘In Flanders Fields’ amidst the carnage of the 2nd battle of Ypres. It was during this battle that Canadians fought through poison gas, the first troops in the British Expeditionary Force to be directly attacked by Germany’s sinister new but illegal weapon, to make an heroic stand in the defence of the town of Ypres. It was the 1st Canadian Division’s ( at that time the only Canadian Corps) first major action on the Western Front. They held their line through a baptism of fire forging an unshakable esprit-de-corp., bonds that would bear the weight of new glories to come at Vimy Ridge and the 3rd battle of Ypres Passchendaele.
Many of Canada’s brave sons lost their tomorrows in those fields in Flanders, where the poppies now grow – but through their sacrifice they gained a reputation as tough resolute soldiers and paved the way for a proud Canada to announce its arrival on the world stage. Today, Canada will remember the events of 2nd Ypres and the soldier poet through the unveiling of new statue of John McCrae at the National Artillery Memorial on Green Island, Ottawa.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

What most Canadians, and Indians for that matter, will overlook today, is the men that stood shoulder to shoulder with Canada as it found its feet on the Western Front, on those fateful days of the 2nd battle of Ypres. McCrae’s ode to the fallen has become the best known poem for the first world war, and as a remembrance banner for the world we would as Punjabis like to respectfully dedicate our own postscript in memoriam to the soldiers of the Punjab that fell in Flanders Fields during the 2nd Battle of Ypres defending the Canadian line at Mauser Ridge, Kitchener Wood and St Julien :
In sacred fields of tomorrows lost, lie sons of a foreign soil, where the poppies blow, desolate but known unto God.

‪#‎RememberThem‬
In Remembrance in the comments section below this post, lets each respectfully salute the men of the village/ tehsils closest to our ancestral homes. As the world remembers its fallen, please share this post with your friends to join us in honouring our Punjabi forefathers who gave their lives for the freedoms and democracies we enjoy today.
‪#‎Sikhs‬ ‪#‎Sikh‬ ‪#‎Punjab‬ ‪#‎Panjab‬ ‪#‎Panjabi‬ ‪#‎Punjabi‬ ‪#‎FirstWorldWar‬ ‪#‎WW1‬ ‪#‎Indian‬ ‪#‎GreatWar‬ #1914 #1915 ‪#‎ww1centennial‬ ‪#‎indocanadians‬ ‪#‎indocanadian‬ ‪#‎canadianhistory‬ ‪#‎sikhhistory‬ ‪#‎canadiansikhs‬ ‪#‎southasians‬

Photos:
We thank former Commander Harjit Singh Sajjan and current officers and men, Manjeet Singh Vinning and Vincent Virk of the British Columbia Regiment, who, on the occasion of the Centennial of the 2nd Battle of Ypres, paid their respects on behalf of the Punjabi community to all the Kings Men lost in Flanders Fields
1) Menin Gate India Monument, Ypres
The names of 54,405 British commonwealth soldiers lost without a trace during the defence of Ypres in WW1 are memorialised at the Menin Gate.
2) Indian Casualties listed on the Menin Gate Ypres
Amongst the inscriptions of the dead that have no known grave, are 6,500 Canadian and 450 Indian soldiers.
In a memorial to the Indian Corp at Neuve Chapelle, across the border in French Flanders, some 4742 Indian soldiers with no known graves are commemorated.
3) Canadian Memorial at St Julien